New here and trying to find a scent

Hey guys!

I'm 19 years old and around two years ago my mother bought me Le Male by Jean Paul Gautlier. I never used that often being in high school - i really only ever broke it out for dances/dates/fancy dinners/etc. Last year I started to wear it pretty often, I started using it almost every day but there were times when i forgot about it. In any case i have been using it regulary and i enjoy wearing a scent regularly but last week it ran dry. Earlier today i was googling how to pick a cologne and i found this website, after reading some articles and forum posts i was surprised to see that Le Male is a very popular scent. I don't know the full history behind it but apparently the scent i was wearing (which i assumed to just be some random cologne my mom found at Sears or something, we never discussed it much) was actually a very well known and respected scent to the point where i is bootlegged pretty commonly. I am almost certain mine was not a bootleg given that my mom bought it from some department store and it was around 45-60 dollars (i think it was on sale for christmas).

In any case, i do like the scent of Le Male but i want to expand my horizon. Also on the this websites review of Le Male many say that they dislike it, i want a scent to be attractive (especially to the ladies). I want to try out many types of scents because i have not had much experience trying out different brands/scents/etc. But just from my experience with trying out my dads colognes when i was very little - i was a curious little kid - i think i prefer to wear the less citrus-ey scents. I see Le Male described as "vanilla" but when i wore it I never really described it was "sweet."

Anyway, what advice can you give someone who is just getting into cologne and wants to start finding scents he likes. I want to slowly build a collection and be the kind of man who has "a scent for every occaision." But i do want to definitely start wearing cologne every day (side question: should cologne last all day or just a couple hours? I want something that will last if i put it on in the morning).

Thanks in advance, and i'm glad to be a new member of the community!

EDIT: If you couldn't tell I am male. I know perfumes are typically only for women so when some people recommend me perfumes i was wondering if they couldn't tell my gender.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Before I make any suggestions, please keep in mind that not everyone is going to like your fragrances. Many will, and some wont, many wont, but some will. With that said, here are the ones that I usually wear (20 year old college student)
-Boss Bottled (Safe and versatile, can't see many ladies not liking this one)
-L'Homme and La Nuit (loved by many, and for a good reason)
-Dior Homme Sport 2012 (sophistication meets fun; try it first though)
-Michael Jordan - Legend (What can I say? What woman doesn't have a sweet tooth?)
-Perry Ellis 360 Red/AdG (It's a #1 seller for a reason, and PE red smells exactly like it)
-Armani Code (I hated this stuff before and never understood the hype, after trying it again, I see why it's loved).

Side question: Most fragrances will last anywhere from 1-8 hours. There are a few that will last you most, if not, the entire day (A*Men by Thierry Mugler for example).
Many members here will decant (spray into a smaller 5ml bottle) and carry the decant around + reapply when needed.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Those are a lot of valid questions, and I am sure some of the more experienced people here can give you some concise answers. I, myself am a new to colognes as a serious hobby (the last six months or so).

As for what to do to expand your horizons, it's simple--sample, sample, sample! Everyone will tell you this, but it really is true. You are much better off spending 30-40$ on samples rather than 50-60$ on a fragrance you are recommended and take a chance on.

For suggestions, I'm close to your age group (20), so I will be the first to tell you that you don't want something too loud out there while in lectures or classes. Personally, some of my favorites are (for this season): Pure Malt, New Haarlem (compliment getter), Aventus, etc. If you want to go the more affordable route, some of the Burberry fragrances are nice.

Also worth noting are your local boutiques and outlets. Almost everywhere there is a Macy's, and while the SA's can be a little...obnoxious, it's a great way to get your nose experienced with more fragrances.

As for how long fragrances last, it varies. Tobacco Vanille or New Haarlem last me the entire day (9 am to 9pm) plus extra time on the shirt/skin scent, but others last between 4-6 hours. It's really a matter of your skin and the particular scent you are talking about.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Welcome!

So many different styles and types of perfumes - there's no way around, one has to be patient and smell as much as possible early on to get some ideas. So go to local department and beauty stores and spray your way around.

Le Male is a clean barbershop musk with some sweetness - but you are right that it is not as sweet as the now common food-like gourmand perfumes. I would start exploring somewhat related perfumes called fougeres, which share some of the clean muskiness. An example could be Rive Gauche for men, which is cleaner and less sweet. Or Caron Troisieme homme, sweetish and with a stronger musk (not expensive, but not easy to find, depending on where you live). Or the more classic and assertive Azzaro pour homme. You can also test some other areas, like vetivers (very clean and fresh but not citrusy), like Tom Ford Grey Vetiver. Or full gourmands, like Dior Homme.

How long a cologne last depends on the cologne. Some last 8 hours or more, but not all.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Originally Posted by MikeJ

Before I make any suggestions, please keep in mind that not everyone is going to like your fragrances. Many will, and some wont, many wont, but some will. With that said, here are the ones that I usually wear (20 year old college student)
-Boss Bottled (Safe and versatile, can't see many ladies not liking this one)
-L'Homme and La Nuit (loved by many, and for a good reason)
-Dior Homme Sport 2012 (sophistication meets fun; try it first though)
-Michael Jordan - Legend (What can I say? What woman doesn't have a sweet tooth?)
-Perry Ellis 360 Red/AdG (It's a #1 seller for a reason, and PE red smells exactly like it)
-Armani Code (I hated this stuff before and never understood the hype, after trying it again, I see why it's loved).

Side question: Most fragrances will last anywhere from 1-8 hours. There are a few that will last you most, if not, the entire day (A*Men by Thierry Mugler for example).
Many members here will decant (spray into a smaller 5ml bottle) and carry the decant around + reapply when needed.

Thanks for the reply and thanks for the suggestions! I want to start building a collection so that eventually i will have an entire suite of scents to choose from for any occasion, but obviously i want to start small and build up slowly (don't have too much money :P).

Thanks for the advice about the decanter, i think i will buy some glass atomizers off ebay to use for that!

Originally Posted by OctaVariuM

Those are a lot of valid questions, and I am sure some of the more experienced people here can give you some concise answers. I, myself am a new to colognes as a serious hobby (the last six months or so).

As for what to do to expand your horizons, it's simple--sample, sample, sample! Everyone will tell you this, but it really is true. You are much better off spending 30-40$ on samples rather than 50-60$ on a fragrance you are recommended and take a chance on.

For suggestions, I'm close to your age group (20), so I will be the first to tell you that you don't want something too loud out there while in lectures or classes. Personally, some of my favorites are (for this season): Pure Malt, New Haarlem (compliment getter), Aventus, etc. If you want to go the more affordable route, some of the Burberry fragrances are nice.

Also worth noting are your local boutiques and outlets. Almost everywhere there is a Macy's, and while the SA's can be a little...obnoxious, it's a great way to get your nose experienced with more fragrances.

As for how long fragrances last, it varies. Tobacco Vanille or New Haarlem last me the entire day (9 am to 9pm) plus extra time on the shirt/skin scent, but others last between 4-6 hours. It's really a matter of your skin and the particular scent you are talking about.

Thanks for the advice! Where do i go to buy samples? Can i order them online? I wanted to try aventus because i have read a lot about it while looking up stuff about Le Male.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Sample, sample, and sample. Don't be shy about asking for samples, most places are good about giving them out. While you're in the stores, ask the SA what's popular and what they like and maybe ask them to recommend something for you. Get some rapport going, make them want to give you samples. Don't rush to pull the trigger, make sure you like it first. Take what you read on BN with a grain of salt. There's a lot of good info here and some cool cats who can be real helpful, but there's also some snobs who'll just bash anything they don't approve of. Buying samples (for me at least) is an absolute last resort, but if you must, Luckyscent.com sells samples of everything the sell. Also, check out the splits and for sale boards, if your patient, you can find great deals. Oh yeah and fragrancenet.com is a good place for online frag shopping.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Samples of Silver Mountain Water, Green Irish Tweed and Aventus. Surrender to chance is a good site since it seems perfumed court is currently down. I recommend these three because you will hear their names over and over and over again until they're beaten into your brain, so you might as well sample them sooner than later. Plus, they're great.

We're almost the same age, so here are some ideas on good, solid designers:
Terre d'Hermes
Dior Homme
Pure Havane/Pure Malt (my opinion? Pick one, and go with havane)
Egoiste is a maybe
Burberry London is great

I'd say get 1 or 2 bottles and a bunch of samples. You're going to have a lot of fun and it's great that you're embracing this. Welcome!

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

Thanks for the recommendations and advice guys!

Is there any way i can receive free samples in the mail for good scents? Or typically are free scent trials complete shit?

Also, I don't have too much money to drop on cologne. I was wondering what are some of the cheaper and still great scents? I saw Cool Water by Davidoff. Although I do eventually want to sample (and buy) stuff like Aventus by Creed and
Acqua Di Gio by Giorgio Armani, as it stands right now I just don't have the cash (cologne isn't a cheap hobby, as I am learning).

So can you guys recommend me some good lower priced scents? I know how many people say that Le Male is "super common" which makes it considered low class, but i think it may be common because it isn't terribly expensive.

Re: New here and trying to find a scent

s there any way i can receive free samples in the mail for good scents? Or typically are free scent trials complete shit?

Also, I don't have too much money to drop on cologne. I was wondering what are some of the cheaper and still great scents?

Some companies will send you free samples, some won't, but it seems to be more a matter of random company policy than whether the scents are good or bad.

Early in my perfume obsession I emailed every perfume company I was interested in to ask for samples. Some sent samples, some ignored me completely, some told me to go to my department store, some pointed me to where they were selling samples. But I got enough free samples to be worth the typing.

When I asked, I tried to avoid a vibe of "SEND ME FREE STUFF!!" and instead tried to signal that I had specific interests and I might actually spend money. My emails were generally something like:

"I've been looking for an orange fragrance, and I've read good things about Eau d'Orange Verte. I don't live near a department store where I can sample this fragrance, and I wondered if your company might be able to provide one by mail. If so, my address is (blahblah). I'd also be delighted try samples of any other fragrances from your company."

Re less expensive but good scents, I know more female scents that fit that description. The only unisex/male scent that immediately come to mind is Bvlgari Black - it's often available from reliable online discounters at a pretty good price.